Discover the Best Intangible Benefits of Working in Human Resources 

What is behind nearly every successful company? A competent human resources department. If you are looking for a career path that can be highly satisfying and you love working with people and solving problems, then the benefits of working in human resources are worth considering. Why is HR important, and what personal benefits could you gain by working in this field? We’ll take a closer look at these important questions.

Why Work in HR?

Working in HR brings several intangible benefits that can make your work rewarding. Human resources personnel are largely responsible for encouraging employee engagement and creating an overall positive work environment. Here are some of the key benefits you may experience if you pursue a career in this area.

Helping People Grow Their Careers

If you take joy in helping people, then working as an HR professional could be highly rewarding. The primary job of an HR professional is to help people by protecting the welfare of employees and assisting team members as they grow their careers.

What does this look like on a practical level? You will spend time on activities such as:

• Arranging training and job skills development programs
• Connecting qualified candidates to job advancement opportunities
• Offering information about taking PTO or medical leave
• Helping people achieve a work-life balance by connecting them to company benefits

The people you serve will appreciate the work you do, and that is intrinsically rewarding.

Networking

When you work in human resources, you will interact with literally everyone in the company, creating a potentially robust professional network. Everyone, no matter their role, will need to touch base with the human resources team on occasion, so you will be able to build that network into something that can help you in the future. You will also have plenty of opportunities to build professional friendships, which can make your work more gratifying.

Job Flexibility

Working in HR can mean many different career paths, so you can structure your career to fit your strengths and interests. For instance, if you love to look for new hires, then you can use your HR training to work in recruitment. If you love working with people, then working in the office and managing employee benefits could be a good fit. For HR professionals with strong attention to detail, working in payroll and tracking absences might be the right track. Those with strong leadership skills can even benefit from looking at management positions. The opportunities are truly endless, which makes pursuing HR training such a flexible choice.

Welcoming New Team Members

One of the roles of an HR professional is bringing new team members on board. Planning onboarding and training programs and setting people up for success within your organization can be tremendously satisfying. You will not only help these new team members find their groove, but you will also help the company achieve greater success by ensuring new people are doing their jobs well. You will help create the training programs that get these people on board and productive as quickly as possible.

Improving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Whether you are working in recruitment or simply helping to keep the workplace positive, your role can help make your workplace more diverse and inclusive. If issues of discrimination occur or misunderstandings happen, you are at the forefront of helping work through them in a positive manner. This helps you maintain a high level of professionalism and a supportive company culture, all while also improving the overall equity and inclusion in your workplace.

Ability to Handle Tricky Situations

If you have great problem-solving abilities, then human resources is a great line of work to consider. People come with a lot of problems, and HR professionals can help wade through those issues with delicacy and tact so that people can get back to contributing to the business’s success. Some of the types of tricky situations an HR team may need to manage include:

• Discrimination accusations
• Harassment issues
• Employee disciplinary issues
• Disagreements between management and team members
• Safety issues on the job

If you can help a company get through these complex interpersonal problems, you will feel a high level of satisfaction in your work, and your company will achieve a greater level of success.

Demand for HR

Human resources professionals are in high demand, which is another intangible benefit of choosing this field. The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides average salary data for this role and that between 2023 and 2033, the industry will see a 6% growth in demand for HR professionals.* This is a field where companies always need trained professionals to help them achieve their goals, which means a wide range of job options if you pursue this level of training.

Why Is HR Critical to a Company?

Why is there such a high demand for HR professionals? What makes this industry so important to the growth and development of a company? Here are some factors that impact the demand for HR professionals that are worth considering as you move toward further development in this field.

Managing Company Risk

One of the riskiest parts of running a business is trusting other people to help you do your work. Employees can be the success or downfall of a business, and human resources professionals help manage this type of company risk. HR professionals are uniquely positioned to help companies avoid risks, meaning they are integral to their employers’ success (or failure).

Human resources employees also help limit the risk of employment shortages. They can address issues before they lead to an employee getting fired or quitting, and they can help the company identify areas where they may need to hire additional staff. They can create enticing benefits packages to help attract the most promising job candidates and limit the time it takes to find new employees.

Keeping Employees Safe, Healthy, and Happy

When employees are sick or do not feel safe in their jobs, the company suffers. In 2023, American businesses saw an average of 1.6 million absences per month, which is about 19 missed days of work a year for each employee. On average, unscheduled absences cost $3,600 a year for hourly employees and $2,660 per year for salaried employees.

While many factors impact employee absentee rates, the bottom line is that absenteeism is costly for the business. A poor employee experience can increase absenteeism, as people feel less motivated to come to work if they dread being there. Thus, an HR professional who works to keep employees happy on the job can help limit these absences.

Human resources departments also help ensure employee safety. From working to ensure the workplace meets all OSHA requirements to eliminating undue risks from things like pollutants or illness in the workplace, HR is essential to keeping employees working and not at home nursing illness or injury.

Finally, human resources professionals work to improve overall job satisfaction, further increasing overall productivity. These professionals handle complaints when they arise, work with management to improve communication, ensure team members get the right training, and propose new ideas to make the workplace culture more positive. All of these activities boost morale and help ensure people enjoy coming to work each day.

Growing Employee Productivity

Happy employees are more productive, so HR has a definite role in improving productivity within the workplace. Yet this can go beyond just keeping employees satisfied in their work. One of the benefits of human resources departments is the ability they have to create incentive and rewards programs that can further encourage productivity. More productive employees contribute to overall business success.

Incentives are just one way that HR employees boost productivity. They can also improve productivity through ergonomic workstations, improvements to lighting, and other small changes that make employees more comfortable. They can establish policies that encourage work-life balance and overall physical health, so employees have more energy to devote to the business. Limiting absenteeism also improves productivity.

The human resources department also has a vital role to play in employee evaluations. Sometimes, they oversee these evaluations, while other times, they support management as they prepare for and deliver evaluations. Either way, HR professionals can transform these from dreaded annual events to something employees look forward to as they strive to grow and improve. When evaluations are a positive part of working at a company, productivity increases.

Protection from Harassment and Discrimination

Harassment and workplace violence can lead to costly lawsuits and the need to fire dangerous employees and hire new ones, with associated training and recruitment costs. HR employees are the first line of defense against these issues. A discrimination or employment lawsuit can cost between $75,000 and $125,000 for the employer, according to workforce.com. This is a high cost to pay for something that could be avoided altogether, and this is one of the roles of the human resources team.

In some cases, they can hear complaints and help the employees mitigate misunderstandings and avoid the risks of a harassment or discrimination lawsuit. They can work with the employer to ensure hiring practices aren’t discriminatory. They can help make the workplace as diverse as possible without hurting the company’s overall hiring goals. They can provide training on harassment and discrimination to help educate employees about how to avoid these issues in the workplace, as well as what the protocols are when problems do occur to ensure their rights are protected.

Hiring the Right Employees

Finally, HR departments and professionals help businesses find success by hiring the right employees. This is not always as easy as it seems, and it involves:

• Having a full comprehension of the job and its requirements
• Posting and managing job advertisements to bring in new recruits
• Knowing what type of candidate will work best
• Screening resumes and performing initial screening calls and interviews
• Handling questions from potential candidates
• Passing qualified candidates on to the management for additional interviews

The knowledge of company culture, the job that needs to be done, and the overall goals of the company all come into play in helping HR professionals find the right employees. With the right people on the job, the business finds greater success as well.

Start Your Human Resources Training Today

Working in human resources is highly rewarding, both intrinsically and through career growth opportunities. To get started, you will need the right training. Bryant & Stratton College has both a bachelor’s degree and an associate degree in human resources. Consider the BBA in Human Resources or the AAS in Human Resources Specialist for your training and start your career on the right path. Request information today to learn more about our human resources training.

*Cited projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions and do not guarantee actual job growth.